Wooster High girls swimmers have trained hard for state meet

By ANDREW VOGEL Daily Record Sports Writer

Thursday

Feb 21, 2013 at 4:00 AM

WOOSTER -- Swimming, unlike some other varsity sports, is not just a four-month season. The only way to make it on the podium at the state meet is with a tireless daily work ethic -- almost to a maniacal level. In-season or offseason, January or July, workouts are like meals -- never to be skipped.

To many, that grueling daily routine sounds like misery. Wooster's Jessica Bonezzi, however, loves it -- and she has plenty of company.

Bonezzi, Madison Whitman, Sydney Wenger and Gabrielle Sibilia are Wooster's four qualifiers for this weekend's state swim meet. It has been six years since the Generals had a single qualifier and, given the strength of their program year-in and year-out, that demonstrates just how hard it is to make it to state. Wooster girls coach Chris Matthew, though, now has four swimmers who possess the single-most important characteristic to get there -- an unrelenting commitment to work round the clock.

"To me, you can't get there without it," said Matthew, "and they're the proof. It's super-competitive and now it's paying off."

What's even more impressive is that all four are underclassmen. In fact, Bonezzi and Whitman are freshmen and have both qualified in two individual events each -- with Bonezzi in the 100 butterfly and 200 freestyle and Whitman in the 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley. Wenger, a sophomore, and Sibilia, a junior, will team up with them in the 400 free relay and 200 medley relay.

When the quartet jumps off the deck at this weekend's state meet, it will be the biggest meet they've ever competed in. Then again, it won't really feel all that different. After all, Bonezzi, Whitman and Sibilia have been competing together since they were barely in kindergarten and have swum in many national meets over the years.

"Jessica, Madison and I have been on the same relay team since we were 5," said Sibilia.

In a sport where the difference between first place and fourth place can hundredths of a second, that familiarity is crucial.

"We do so many relay starts that when Madison's in the middle of the pool," said Bonezzi, "I can tell what her finish is going to be and I can adjust."

When they're not competing together, they're usually still in the pool, preparing for the next meet. In an endurance sport like swimming, one day off compromises the progress made after four days' worth of workouts.

"If you miss one day of practice," said Whitman, "you feel like you've been out of it for a week."

"You get used to that exercise," said Wenger. "You crave it."

The training is so arduous that Sibilia and Bonezzi literally have to go through a therapist to get through it. During the season, Sibilia goes to physical therapy to have a chronic shoulder injury treated, while Bonezzi battles scoleosis in her lower back. The freshman said it's all worth it, though, because the alternative is going into a meet knowing she didn't push herself enough.

"Training in pain is a terrible thing," she said, "but you don't want to have those 'what ifs.'"

In a way, all that training over the past decade was motivated by a singular aspiration -- get to state as high schoolers. Now that goal is a reality and this weekend marks the culmination of every early-morning workout.

"It wasn't even a question -- we're going to be a state-qualifying relay," said Bonezzi, without a hint of self-doubt. "That's the mentality you have to have in swimming -- 'this is what's going to happen and this is how I'm going to get there.'"

Matthew said that moxie is the reason she knew early on this quartet would set themselves apart. They've put themselves in position to do just that -- with a chance to garner All-Ohio status and beyond on Saturday. With Bonezzi seeded seventh in the fly and Whitman fifth in the breast, a state championship isn't necessarily out of the question.

"I haven't felt this way in a long time," said Matthew. "I didn't want to be overconfident, but I knew it was going to be special."

"When we were 8, Chris told us about how excited she was when we would get to high school," said Sibilia. "Here we are."

After waiting 10 years for the opportunity, Bonezzi said they won't really be nervous once the moment arrives -- they'll simply embrace it.

"We're excited to finally get this chance," she said. "We're going to get there and swim fast."

For a freshman, that self-assurance nearly sounds crazy. Then again, that's the mentality that got Bonezzi and her teammates to state in the first place.

Andrew Vogel can be reached at 330-287-1624 or avogel@the-daily-record.com. Follow him on Twitter at @andvogel.

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